As the Indians were on their way to a franchise record-tying 13th straight win on Thursday night, T.D. Dery, one of the sharpest and most diehard Tribe fans around, joined the show to give the guys a crash course on a tremendous first half of the season. We covered everything from the brilliance of the starting rotation and the overall state of the roster to potential targets at the trade deadline and biggest threats in the American League down the stretch.
Winding down a week for the ages, the guys take a victory lap after the Cavs won the NBA championship on Sunday night and the city of Cleveland threw the parade of the century on Wednesday afternoon. Relive the best moments from Game 7, the ensuing celebrations all over Cleveland and the arrival of a new era in the City of Champions. Life is good in The Land.
On the eve of the biggest game in Cavaliers franchise history, Bill Bender, who has been covering the NBA Finals for The Sporting News, joins the show to talk Game 7. Left for dead after two blowout losses to start the series and again after falling behind 3-1, the Cavs have found new life. The guys dig into what turned the tide, LeBron’s transcendent performance, what each team needs to do in Game 7, and which role players could make the difference in determining the team that will walk out of Oracle Arena with the Larry O’Brien trophy on Sunday night.
After two games in the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers are officially a collection of mad men, down 2-0 to the Warriors. The guys welcome Tom’s dad, Tom Sr., to try to sort out what has gone horribly wrong and what, if anything, can be done to salvage the series. … Plus, the guys pay homage to Muhammad Ali, and Tom Sr. shares a story of meeting The Greatest in Chicago.
An NBA Finals rematch of the century deserves an all-out preview podcast to match. With another epic showdown between the Cavs and Warriors set to tip off on Thursday night, the guys welcome Mark Meszoros and Mark Koestner aboard for a wide-ranging Finals roundtable discussion. It’s a whole new world for the Cavs since the last time these teams met in January. How will the Cavs cover for the defensive deficiencies of Kevin Love, and to a lesser degree, Kyrie Irving? What difference will Coach Ty Lue and sharpshooting power forward Channing Frye make? Will LeBron continue to start games as a facilitator or will he look to take over from the jump? And finally, will the dastardly Draymond Green’s antics finally draw a suspension from the league? (Hint: Probably not.)
Actor Christopher McDonald was in Akron on Saturday night for the RubberDucks’ “Happy Gilmore Night” promotion. Joined by News-Herald sports editor Mark Podolski, we sat down with McDonald during the game as he shared stories about playing Shooter McGavin, the joy of being the bad guy in movies, Bob Barker's legitimate boxing skills and the angst of being a diehard fan of a hard-luck team. (Sound familiar?) He also threw in a Cavs/NBA Finals prediction and gave his thoughts on what happened to Shooter’s career after his meltdown at the Tour Championship in ’96. ... Single pistol, baby!
The Cavs are showing no signs of slowing down on this postseason run, relentlessly attacking the rim en route to a blowout of the Raptors in Game 1 of the East finals. Is there any chance this series can become interesting? (Spoiler: Probably not.) … Plus: The guys were both leery of what a documentary about Cleveland’s history of sports heartbreak would look like under the auspices of ESPN. Did the “Believeland” 30 for 30 documentary do our city justice? Sort of, but there were some definite sticking points.
